Southern Alamance's Acafellas make their place on the stage

Published: Sunday, May 26, 2013 at 03:05 AM.

GRAHAM — Hard work and ample talent have made the Acafellas something of a mainstay at Southern Alamance. The four-man vocal group is a go-to for the national anthem at athletics events and often is called to entertain at Alamance Citizens for Education functions and public events. Along with a standard set of tunes — “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “My Girl,” and a surprising cover of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” — this year, the members also carved out space inside Southern Alamance’s walls. Seniors Austin Greeson and Morgan Keene and juniors Tanner Greeson and Johnathan Lloyd salvaged a cluttered 8-by-10-foot storage closet for their rehearsals. They share it with a piano and several guitars. They rehearse there twice a week, more often when approaching a performance. Tucked away in a winding hall, the harmonies and interplay between their voices resonate in that enclosed space. “None of us play instruments, so everything we do is by ear,” Keene said of the group’s four-part harmonies. “The person who picks the song usually arranges it.” A dry erase board lists a set of songs the group is working on: Billy Joel’s contemporary standard “Just the Way You Are,” Justin Timberlake’s break-up dirge “Cry Me a River,” and Katy Perry’s effervescent “Teenage Dream” were a few marked for consideration at upcoming performances in early May. “People really like “Ain’t No Sunshine,” but we’ve done that one so much, we’ve almost sung ourselves out of it,” Keene said. The others chuckled and nodded in agreement.

Existing as a student-driven group, The Acafellas came perilously close to dissolving almost before they got started. In 2009, a group of 15 classmates in an advanced music theory course decided they wanted to sing together. Led by students, with little input from the school itself, the Acafellas were born. Keene and Austin Greeson were part of that original group. Attrition by graduation whittled the Acafellas down and the group was less active in the 2010-11 year. The Greesons, Lloyd and Keene saw potential and worked to hone their sound and take the Acafellas public. “It allowed us to branch out into a more diverse way of singing,” Austin Greeson said. “We could do whatever we wanted to the way we interpreted the music.” The members approach songs from different musical backgrounds and interests. Brothers Austin and Tanner Greeson grew up in a musical family, with country and Christian music, with singing common at home and at family gatherings. Austin Greeson sings baritone and tenor. Tanner Greeson’s range allows him to sing high tenor. He joked that he’s the group’s soprano. Keene’s father is a singer. The senior sings bass for the group. He casts a wide musical net, from classical to modern pop and hip-hop. Lloyd, also a tenor, grew up singing in church. His favorite musician is the prolific neo-soul singer/songwriter John Legend. The group performs about four times a month. With all that experience, it comes pretty naturally to them now — though they still get the jitters before singing for large audiences. “I started singing in the church choir when I was little,” Lloyd said. “I used to cry when I had to sing by myself. But I think I grew up out of the crying.” On top of being driven in the classroom and on the stage, they’re also all varsity athletes. Pamela Collings, a music teacher at the high school, marveled at their dedication. She serves as a mentor and helps schedule performances, but hasn’t had to teach or train them. Their interest kept the group going. Their musical ambition and ability have kept them striving to be better. “I’ve been in music education over 30 years and I’ve never seen such talent and self-motivation,” Collings said. “They go in that room and come up with incredible harmonies. They have an incredible sense of pitch. And what they come up with is so closely knit.” The student-led singers look to be a campus staple for the foreseeable future, even though a couple members will graduate in a few weeks. Keene is headed to Guilford College on an academic scholarship. Austin Greeson will attend Wingate University on a track scholarship. Lloyd and Tanner Greeson will head the group next year with the intention of passing the torch to a new class of Acafellas. They plan to hold auditions in the next few weeks. “It’s like a brotherhood. We work well together but we also care about each other,” Austin Greeson said. “If we don’t like what we’re singing or doing, we tell each other. We talk about it and work through it.”

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GRAHAM — Hard work and ample talent have made the Acafellas something of a mainstay at Southern Alamance.
The four-man vocal group is a go-to for the national anthem at athletics events and often is called to entertain at Alamance Citizens for Education functions and public events.
Along with a standard set of tunes — “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “My Girl,” and a surprising cover of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” — this year, the members also carved out space inside Southern Alamance’s walls. Seniors Austin Greeson and Morgan Keene and juniors Tanner Greeson and Johnathan Lloyd salvaged a cluttered 8-by-10-foot storage closet for their rehearsals. They share it with a piano and several guitars. They rehearse there twice a week, more often when approaching a performance.
Tucked away in a winding hall, the harmonies and interplay between their voices resonate in that enclosed space.
“None of us play instruments, so everything we do is by ear,” Keene said of the group’s four-part harmonies. “The person who picks the song usually arranges it.”
A dry erase board lists a set of songs the group is working on: Billy Joel’s contemporary standard “Just the Way You Are,” Justin Timberlake’s break-up dirge “Cry Me a River,” and Katy Perry’s effervescent “Teenage Dream” were a few marked for consideration at upcoming performances in early May.
“People really like “Ain’t No Sunshine,” but we’ve done that one so much, we’ve almost sung ourselves out of it,” Keene said.
The others chuckled and nodded in agreement.

Existing as a student-driven group, The Acafellas came perilously close to dissolving almost before they got started.
In 2009, a group of 15 classmates in an advanced music theory course decided they wanted to sing together. Led by students, with little input from the school itself, the Acafellas were born. Keene and Austin Greeson were part of that original group.
Attrition by graduation whittled the Acafellas down and the group was less active in the 2010-11 year. The Greesons, Lloyd and Keene saw potential and worked to hone their sound and take the Acafellas public.
“It allowed us to branch out into a more diverse way of singing,” Austin Greeson said. “We could do whatever we wanted to the way we interpreted the music.”
The members approach songs from different musical backgrounds and interests.
Brothers Austin and Tanner Greeson grew up in a musical family, with country and Christian music, with singing common at home and at family gatherings. Austin Greeson sings baritone and tenor. Tanner Greeson’s range allows him to sing high tenor. He joked that he’s the group’s soprano.
Keene’s father is a singer. The senior sings bass for the group. He casts a wide musical net, from classical to modern pop and hip-hop.
Lloyd, also a tenor, grew up singing in church. His favorite musician is the prolific neo-soul singer/songwriter John Legend.
The group performs about four times a month. With all that experience, it comes pretty naturally to them now — though they still get the jitters before singing for large audiences.
“I started singing in the church choir when I was little,” Lloyd said. “I used to cry when I had to sing by myself. But I think I grew up out of the crying.”
On top of being driven in the classroom and on the stage, they’re also all varsity athletes.
Pamela Collings, a music teacher at the high school, marveled at their dedication. She serves as a mentor and helps schedule performances, but hasn’t had to teach or train them. Their interest kept the group going. Their musical ambition and ability have kept them striving to be better.
“I’ve been in music education over 30 years and I’ve never seen such talent and self-motivation,” Collings said. “They go in that room and come up with incredible harmonies. They have an incredible sense of pitch. And what they come up with is so closely knit.”
The student-led singers look to be a campus staple for the foreseeable future, even though a couple members will graduate in a few weeks.
Keene is headed to Guilford College on an academic scholarship. Austin Greeson will attend Wingate University on a track scholarship. Lloyd and Tanner Greeson will head the group next year with the intention of passing the torch to a new class of Acafellas.
They plan to hold auditions in the next few weeks.
“It’s like a brotherhood. We work well together but we also care about each other,” Austin Greeson said. “If we don’t like what we’re singing or doing, we tell each other. We talk about it and work through it.”